Michael J. Cooley

Michael J. Cooley, faculty member in the School of Health Sciences, is being honored for his courage and continued commitment to Excelsior College and its students while battling a debilitating illness. A loyal member of the President’s Faculty Advisory Committee, Cooley also is sharing his own experience living with Parkinson’s Disease in the College’s End of Life course.

The retired executive director of the Cohoes Multi-Service Senior Citizens Center, Inc., Cooley previously was on the adjunct faculty of Russell Sage College and is a past chair of the National Institute of Senior Centers. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and a Master of Divinity degree in Theology from Niagara University, and a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from Russell Sage College. An active member of many professional and civic associations, he is also the past president of the New York State Coalition for the Aging, the Capital District Association Providers of Aging Services, the Albany Agency Executives Association, and the Cohoes Club of Rotary International.

Cooley is the recipient of the 1997 Peer Recognition Award from the Agency Executive Association for his effectiveness as a "community builder" in the Capital District nonprofit family of agencies; the 1996 Founders Award from the National Institute of Senior Centers for "excellence, outstanding leadership, determination, and dedication to the growth and development of the center field;" and the 1984 Henrietta Rabe Award from the New York State Conference for the Aging for outstanding contributions to the field of aging services in New York State.